Letter to the Minister for Environment
from the Chief Executive, Water UK
ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
COMMITTEE—PLANNING
ISSUES
At yesterday's Environmental Audit Committee
you expressed surprise with suggestions that the implementation
of the AMP III investment programme may face planning problems.
The industry feels very strongly that the investment
programme should not be delayed by planning issues and companies
are working with planning authorities wherever possible to co-ordinate
plans and minimise problems.
However this liaison is entirely voluntary.
No matter how much goodwill exists between companies and planning
authorities, there will be cases where obtaining permission for
sewage treatment works will present difficulties. Indeed this
has already happened during the implementation of the Urban Waste
Water Treatment Directive. In some cases companies have been forced
to identify over 10 possible sites for treatment works, with detailed
plans and assessments required for each one, before finding a
suitable solution. This is costly and time consuming.
We met you in 1998, along with Helen Brinton
MP and the RSPB to talk about water and planning issues, and you
will remember the dinner organised by SERA to debate this further.
We also wrote a letter jointly with RSPB and CPRE urging Government
to reconsider the links between water and land use planning.
Water and planning is a crucial issue for the
industry and for local authorities, we would welcome an initiative
on this, and would be very happy to meet to share some of our
ideas.
14 July 2000
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